Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1887-09-10

uoor fOne more glance ana was sure VI "
there was danger in standing on the floor,
Sir Henry was placed on one side of me- Uns>
slopogaas on the other Keeping my eyes
fixed straight before me whispered TO them,
first in Zulu and then in English, to draw
slowly back inch by inch till half their feet
were resting on the marble flooring where the
brass ceased. Sir Henry whispered on to
Good and Alphonse, and slowly, very, very
slowly. we shifted backward; SO slowly, In
deed, that nobody except Nyleptha and Sc
rails; who saw everything, seemed to notice
the movement Then glanced again at Ny
leptha and saw that, by an almost impercep-
tible nod, she indicated approval. All the
while Agon's eyes were fixed upon the altar
before him, apparently in an ecstasy Of con-
temptation, and mine were fixed upon the
small Of his back in another sort OF ecstasy.
Then suddenly he flung up bis long arms, and
in solemn and resounding voice commenced
chant, OF which for convenience sake APP
pend a rough, a very rough translation here,
though, of course, / did not then comprehend
its meaning. was an invos alton TO the sun,
and ran somewhat as follows:
"There Is silence upon the fs &c Of the Earth and
the waters thereof $3.50
Yea, the silence doth brood on the waters like
nesting bird;
The silence sleepeth also upon the bosom of the
profound darkness.
Only high up in the great spaces star doth speak
unto star. m
Tho Earth is faint with longing and wet with the
tears OF her desire;
The star girded night doth embrace her, but she
is not comforted
She lies enshrouded in mists like a corpse In the
grave clothes,
And stretches her pale hands to the east
"whon Thou art wroth then Thou dost hide Thy
face;
Thou drawest around Thee thick curtain Of
shadows.
Then the Earth grows cold and the Heavens are
They tremhle, and the sound thereof is the sound
OF thunder;
They weep, and their tears are outpoured in the
rain
They sigh, and the wild winds are the voice Of
The flowers die, the fruitful fields anguish aud
turn pale;
The old men and the little children go unto their
appointed place
When Thou withdrawest Thy light, o SUM
Say, what art Thou, Thou matchless Spleen
who set Thee on high, Thou flaming Terror
When didst Thou begin and when is the day Of
thy cndings
Thou nrt the raiment OF the living Spirit.
None did place Thee on high, for Thou vast the
Beginning.
Thou shalt not be ended when Thy children are
forgotten:
Nay, Thou shalt never end, for Thy hours are
eternal
Thou sittest on high within Thy golden house and
measurest out the centuries.
O Father Of Life dark dispelling Sun"
He ceased this solemn chant which, though
il seems a poor enough thing after going
through my mill, is really beautiful and Inn
pressive in the original; and then, after a
moments pause, he glanced up toward the
funnel sloped opening in the dome and
added:
20 Sun, descend upon Thine Altar"
As he spoke wonderful and beautiful
thing happened. Down from on high flushed
a splendid living ray OF light, cleaving the
twilight like sword Of fire. Full upon the
closed petals it fell and ran shimmering down
their golden oides, and then the glorious
flower opened as though beneath the bright
influence Slowly it opened, and as the great
petals fell wide and revealed the golden altar
on which the fire ever burns, the priests blew
a blast upon the trumpets, and from all the
people there rose a shout Of praise that beat
against the domed roof and came echoing
down the marble walls. And now the flower
altar was open, and the sunlight fell full upon
the tongue Of sacred fame and beat it down,
20 that It wavered, sank, and vanished into
tho hollow recesses whence it rose As 1t
vanished, the mellow notes of the trumpets
rolled out once more. Again the old priest
flung up his hands and called aloud:
1--WE sacrifice to Thee. o SUM-"
Once more caught Nylepthas eye; 1t was
fixed upon the hrazen flooring.
"Look out" said aloud; and as said 1t,
saw Agon bend forward and touch something
ON the altar. AS he did 50, tue great white
sea OF faces around US turned red and then
white again, and deep breath went up like
universal Sigh. Nyleptha leaned forward
and with an involuntary movement covered
her ewes with her hand. 6ornis turned and
whispered tc the officer Of the royal body
guard, and then with rending sound the
whole of the prazen flooring slid from before
our feet, and there In its place was suddenly
revealed a smooth marble shaft terminating
in a most awful raging furnace beneath the
altar, big enough and hot enough TO heat the
iron stern post Of a man OF war.
With cry of terror we sprang backward,
all except the wretched Alphonse, who was
paraIyzed with fear and would have fallen
pared for US, had not Sir Henry caught him
in his strong hand us he was vanishing and
dragged him back.
Instantly there arose the most fearful hub
bub, and we four got back to back, Aiphonse
dodging frantically round our little circle in
of tempt to take shelter under our legs. We
all had our revolvers on-for though we Lad
been politely disarmed OF our guns ON leav-
ing the palace, Of course these people did not
know what a revolver was. Unslopogaas
too, had his tax, Of which no effort had been
made to deprive him, and now he whirled it
round his head and sent his piercing Zulu
war shout echoing up the marble walls in fine
defiant fashion. Next second the priests
began to copy the cut Of some Of our clothes,
notably Sir Henry's shooting jacket One
day, indeed, a deputation waited on us and,
as usual, Good donned his full dress uniform